Wardrobe-trunk.



F. H. PARKHURST.

WARDROBE TRUNK.

No. 768,683. l A PATENT-ED AUG. 30, 19.04. F. H. PARKHURST.

WARDROBE TRUNK.

APPLICATION FILED' Nov. 25, 19,03.

No MODEL. A 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNTTED STATES PATENT Patented August 30, 1904.

' EETCE.

FREDERIC H. PARKHURST, OF BANGOR, MAINE, ASSIGNOR TO THE J. F. PARKHURST & SON COMPANY, OF BANGrOR, MAINE, A CORPORATION or MAINE.

WAF'lDROBE-TFIUNK.`

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 768,683, dated August 30, 1904.

Application filed November. 25, 1903. Serial No. 182,589. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERIC H. PARK- HURs'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bangor, in the county of Penobscot and State of Maine, have invented an Improvement in l/Vardrobe-Trunks, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like numerals on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to what are commonly known as wardrobe-trunks -that is, atraveling-trunk constructed so that upon arriving at its destination it can be placed on end and used as a wardrobe, closet, or cupboard.

The particular features wherein the invention resides will be more fully hereinafter described and then pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my improved trunk open. Fig. 2 is a section through the top end of the trunk. Fig. 3 is a section on the line fc fc, Fig. 2. Fig. 4: is a view of the cupboard-compartment of the trunk, showing the way in which the doors or flaps for closing the shelves of said compartment are hung.

The trunk is divided substantially centrally to form the two parts 3 and 4, which are suitably hinged together, as usual. The part 3 constitutes a hanging-compartment in which suits may be hung and the part 4 constitutes a cupboard-compartment for receiving linen, shoes, and similar articles.

One feature of my invention relates to the means employed for retaining the clothes in the hanging-compartment. The suits are supported, as usual, upon suitable garment-hangers, which are suspended from a supportingrod 5 at the upper end of the hanging-compartment, said rod being supported in a manner presently to be described.

The suits are retained in place by a clothesretainer in the form of a gate or -frame 6, which is pivoted at one side to the slides 7, which are slidably mounted in guides or ways 8, secured at one side of the part 3. At the other side of the part 3 are one or more racks 9,:with which locking-pawls 10, carried by the free edge of the frame 6, cooperate. These pawls are preferably spring-pressed pawls of any suitable construction, so that they will automatically engage the racks as the retaininggate is closed.

After the desired number of suits have been hung upon the rod 5 the slides 7 are pushed inwardly, so as to bring the retaining-gate close to the body of the clothes, and thereafter said gate is swung into its closed position, as shown in Fig..3, the racks 9 automatically retaining said gate in such position and the latter securely holding the clothes in place.

I have also provided means whereby the closing of the retaining-gate 6 serves to lock thatedge thereof which is hinged to the slides 7 against outward movement, whereby both edges of the retaininggate are positively locked in position when the gate is closed. As herein illustrated, such locking means comprises a frictional projection l2, carried by the gate and arranged to be brought against the inside of the part 3 when the gate is closed. For this purpose the projection is located inwardly of the axis about which the gate turns, said projection in this form of my invention being carried by the filling-piece 13 and arranged to play in and project through an opening 14 in one of the slides 7. I prefer to have such a locking projection at `both .the top and bottom of thegate, so that with the pawls l0 each corner of the gate is locked. The projection l2 can conveniently be made of rubber or similar material which will have good frictional contact with the side of the part 3.

In addition to its function as a retaining means for the suits hung upon the rod 5 said retaining-gate 6 also furnishes means to support trousers, vests, and similar garments. For this purpose I have hinged to said gate a plurality of supporting-arms 16, said arms preferably being arranged in pairs, as shown in the drawings. The two varms of each pair are connected to turn in unison about the same hingev and are also preferably .made slightlyelastic or resilient, so that they can be spread apart suliciently for the introduction of a pair of trousers, a vest, or a similar garment between them, said garment being folded over one of the arms. Their elasticity tends to cause them to close together, and thus to bite or pinoli the garment and hold it in place. These arms may be pivoted to one or both of the vertical edges of the frame 6, and any number of pairs of arms may be employed. I prefer to pivot all of the arms to the right-hand edge of the frame 6 in Fig. 1, because when pivoted in this way they are less likely to get in the way when the gate or frame 6 is opened or closed. The said gate 6 is also provided with the straps 17, by means of which umbrellas, canes, and similar articles may be secured to said gate.

The upper end of the trunk is rounded or bulged outward, as at Q8, so that it will be impossible' for the trunk to stand on said end. This construction insures that the trunk will always be placed right side up.

At the upper side of one part of the trunk is a strut or brace which is adapted to enter the other part of the trunk when the trunk is closed and to engage the side of the trunk. Such strut or brace is herein illustrated as carried by the part 3 and as comprising two side members 18, iirmly secured to a footpiece 19, liXed to the side of the part 3 and having a head 2O at their outer ends. Said head 2O is adapted to enter the part 4 when the trunk is closed and to engage the side of the trunk, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3. It will thus be seen that the strut extends clear across the trunk when the latter is closed and serves as a means to prevent the trunk from becoming crushed.

The rod 5 on which the garments are hung is associated with the strut above described and will preferably be supported by the head 20 and foot-piece 19. The trunk is divided approximately centrally thereof, so that when it is open nearly one-half of the rod 5 projects beyond the hangingcompartment 3. This projecting portion of the rod 5 forms a distribution-space into which all or so many of the garments as necessary may be drawn, and thus rendered accessible.

Situated over the portion of the rod 5 which is within the hanging-compartment is a guard or locking member 46, which prevents the garment-hangers from becoming' unhooked from the rod while inthe locking-compartment. In placing the garment-hangers upon the rod 5 it is necessary to hook them over the eX- posed end of said rod and then to slide them bach into position in the hanging-compartment, and similarly in removing a hanger from said rod it is necessary to withdraw it into the distribution-space at the exposed end of the rod. With this construction any suit of clothes is made accessible by merely sliding the garment-hangers onto the projecting end of the hanging-rod, and by merely sliding said hangers into the hanging-compartment they are all locked in place.

49 designates a cross member which is rigidly secured to the strut or brace and extends across the end of the hangiiig-compartment. This cross member has an outer convexed face which {it-s the inner side of the swelled end 23 and supports the same and also adds materially to thel strength of the trunk,

The part 4, which constitutes the cupboardcompartment, is made with a series of fixed shelves 27, which are closed by suitable doors or iaps. In arranging these doors I have so supportedv each that when it is opened it does not interfere in the least with the opening or closing of any other door or flap, and as a result all of the various compartments of the cupboard may be open at the same time, thus rendering every article in the cupboard immediately accessible.

One way in which this result may be attained is by forming the door or iiap 50 for the upper compartment at the top of the compartment and dividing said top into sections, which are hinged together, so that it may be rolled back, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2. Below this upper compartment are two other compartments, which are closed by doors 51, swinging about vertical hinges and opening away from each other. Next below this is a compartment closed by a lflap or door 53, which is hinged some distance above the shelf, so that when open it lies against the iiXed front 52. Still below this is a compartment having its door 53 hinged at the bottom and opening downward, and, if desired, below this may be an ordinary drawer 54. This arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 4, which shows the various compartments opened. There a drawer is used, stays 56 will be employed to prevent the flap or door 53 from opening sufficiently to interfere with the opening of the drawer.

A trunk constructed as above described has this advantage that when opened every garment and every compartment and every article in the trunk is immediately accessible, for it will be observed that when the pawls 10 are disengaged the gate or frame 6 may be swung about its hinges through one hundred and eighty degrees, or clear away from the front of the hanging-compartment. The various garment-hangers in said compartment may then all be drawn forward into the distribution-space upon the rod 5, in which position any individual garment can be removed without disturbing any other garment. Further, owing to the particular relation between the opening movement of the iiaps or doors of the compartments of the cupboard any one or all of said doors can be opened without regard to the position of any other door, and every article in the cupboard-eompartment is thus rendered immediately accessible. Vhen the trunk is fully opened, therefore, no closing of one shelf in order to get access to another or no shifting of garment-han gers or garment- IOO lIO

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hanger-supportingl mechanism is necessary to provide access to any other article.

6l designates a strap or tape at the lower end of the hanging-compartment by means of which the bottom portion of the garments can be tied into position, if desired. Two or more of these straps may be used, if desired.

IVhile I have illustrated one construction embodying' my invention, I do not wish to be limited to that shown, as various changes may be made in the form and arrangement of the parts without in any way departing` from the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A wardrobe-trunk havinga hangingcompartment, a clothes-retainer to hold the clothes in said compartment, and sliding supports on which said retainer is pivoted to swing about a vertical axis when the trunk i standing on end.

2. A wardrobe-trunk having a hangingcompartment, sliding supports movable toward and from the open front of said compartment, and a clothes-retainer carried by said supports and adapted to extend from one side to the other of said compartment.

3. A wardrobe-trunk having a hangingcompartment, sliding supports at one side of the compartment, a clothes-retainer hinged to said supports to swing about a vertical axis and adapted to close the open front of said compartment.

4. In a wardrobe-trunk having a hangingcompartment, a clothes-retainer to hold the clothes in said compartment, lsliding supports to which said retainer is pivoted to swing about a vertical axis, and means to lock the retainer in place.

In a wardrobe-trunk having a hangingcompartment, sliding supports movable toward and from the open front of' said compartment, a clothes-retainer carried by said supports and constructed to extend from one side to the other of said compartments, and means to lock the retainer in place.

6. In a wardrobetrunk having a hangingcompartment, slides mounted in guideways at one side of the compartment, a clothesretaining frame hinged to said slides and carrying a pawl and a fixed ratchet with which said pawl coperates to lock the frame in place.

7. In a wardrobe-trunk having a hangingcompartment, slides at one side of said compartment to move toward and from the front thereof, a ratchet at the other side of said compartment, a clothes-retaining frame hinged to the slides, and a pawl carried by said frame and cooperating with the ratchet to lock the frame in place.

8. In a wardrobe-trunk having a hangingcompartment, sliding supports movable toward and from the front of said compartment, a clothes-retainer hinged to said supports, and means to lock both edges of said retainer in place.

9. In a wardrobe-trunk having a hangingcompartment, sliding supports at one side of said compartment, a clothes-retainer hinged to said supports and adapted to close the open front of the compartment, a pawl-and-ratchet device to lock the retainer in place, and means whereby the swinging of the retainer into closed position locks the slides against movement.

l0. In a wardrobe-trunk having a hangingcompartment, slides mounted in guideways at one side of thecompartment, a clothes-retaining frame hinged to the slides, a ratchet at the other side of the compartment, a pawl carried by the :trame and cooperating with said ratchet, and means whereby the swinging loi' the retaining-frame into closed position locks the slides against movement.

l1. A wardrobe-trunk comprising two parts hinged together, one of said partsconstituting a cupboard-compartment and the other a hanging-compartment, a swinging clothes-retaining frame constructed to extend across the hanging-compartment and to hold the clothes therein, and garment-supporting means carried bysaid frame.

12. In a wardrobe-trunk having a hangingcompartment, slides-mounted in guideways at one side or' said compartment, a clothes-retaining frame hinged to said slides, and means to lock said frame in its closed position, said frame having garment-supporting means carried thereby.

13. In a wardrobe-trunk having a hangingcompartment, slides mounted in guideways at one side of said compartment, a clothes-retaining frame hinged to said slides, and means to lock said frame in its closed position, said frame having garment supporting arms hinged thereto.

14. In a wardrobe-trunk comprising two parts, one of which constitutes a hanging-compartment and the other a cupboard-compartment, a strut or brace rigidly secured to that part constituting the hanging-compartment and projecting outwardly therefrom, said brace being adapted to enter the cupboardcompartment when the trunk is closed and engage the side of the trunk, and a garmenthanger-supporting rod associated with said brace.

l5. In a wardrobe-trunk a hanging-compartment and a cupboard-compartment, a nonextensible garment-supporting rod carried by the hanging-compartment and situated partially therein, the projecting portion of said rod extending Vinto the cupboard-compartment when the trunk is closed, and when the trunk is open forming a distribution-space in which all of the garment-hangers on the rod may be drawn to render them accessible.

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16. In a Wardrobe-trunk having a hangingeompartment, a garment-supporting rod situated partially Within and partiall)7 Without, the projecting portion of said rod being of a sutlioient length to support all the garmenthangers Carried by the other part, and a locking bar or guard associated With said other part and serving to prevent the garmenthangers thereon from becoming disengaged IO therefrom.

17. A Wardrobe-trunk having a hanging- 

